1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for urging two members apart or together.
2. Description of the Prior Art
While the subject invention may have many applications, the apparatus may be used to separate two muffler pipes. In the past, the effort required to separate two muffler pipes was great and, as a result, typically one or both of the muffler pipes were destroyed and subsequently replaced. The pipes typically were crimped together. Hence, generally, the pipes were treated as an integral unit and discarded when one of the pipes needed replaced. In other instances, the pipes were physically destroyed to separate and then required total replacement. The Applicant realized that in many instances it was not necessary to destroy the muffler and that it was desirable to physically separate these pipes and retain or reuse at least one of the muffler pipes.
Therefore, an apparatus is needed to nondestructibly separate two attached members without destroying them.
The present invention is a device for moving a first piece relative to the second piece that includes a first clamp adapted to be received by a first piece; a second clamp adapted to be received by a second piece; and a moving member coacting with the first clamp and the second clamp. In operation, moving the moving member in a first direction causes the first clamp to move relative to the second clamp causing the first piece to move relative to the second piece.
The present invention is also a method for removing a first piece joined to a second piece, whereby the first piece is frictionally secured to the second piece. The method includes the steps of providing a first clamp, securing the first clamp to the first piece, providing a second clamp, securing the second clamp to the second piece, coacting a moving member with the first clamp and the second clamp and moving the moving member, thereby causing the first clamp to move relative to the second clamp and, in turn, causing the first piece and the second piece to move relative to each other.